Tag: Ty Segall

Ty Segall – Freedom’s Goblin

It’s hard not to like an album that opens with a song about the lead singer’s dog.

That’s exactly what Ty Segall does on his newest record, Freedom’s Goblin, a sprawling double-album with rock riffs galore, wild horn sections, funk jams, new wave trips, ballads, and psychedelic freak-outs.  The opening track, “Fanny Dog,” launches like a Polaris missile with a full brass accompaniment and Segall shredding his guitar like his dog probably shreds a stuffed animal.

Segall makes a hard right turn on “Rain,” which seems to reveal his admiration for Radiohead with its simple piano chords, unadorned vocals, slightly warped horns (which are all over this record, really) and lyrics about pining for a lover.  His cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Every 1’s a Winner” is outstanding, and one of the best covers anyone has put out in a couple years.  Segall and his crew keep the funk but up the fuzz on it, and we’re all winners for it.  Speaking of funk, the bass on “Despoiler of Cadaver” is downright slick, and the rest of the tune is a weird, disco / new wave fun zone.

“When Mommy Kills You” is appropriately hard-hitting.  “My Lady’s on Fire” is a ballad that displays Segall’s love for 1960’s folk rock, and the saxophone solo on it  immediately gets your attention.  “Alta” is stadium rock brilliance.  Want more cowbell?  There’s plenty of it on the groovy “Meaning,” which blends hot beats with guitar freak-outs.  “Cry Cry Cry” isn’t a cover of the Johnny Cash song, but it does sound like a nice salute to ELO‘s ballads.  “Shoot You Up” is a slugging, chugging song that I think is about the dark side of the record industry, or fame, or both.

“You Say All the Nice Things” and “The Last Waltz” are two love songs, one about love in the now and one about a love lost to death.  One of the longest tracks on the record, “She,” is a wild jam that would be appropriate for any lady wrestler’s entrance music or the theme song for any metal-loving dominatrix.  “Talkin’ 3” is almost a free-form acid jazz session, but with a noise rock band playing at the same time.  “The Main Pretender,” with its skronking, squealing saxophone by Mac DeMarco, was one of my top 10 singles of 2017.  “I’m Free” gets back to Segall’s love of 1960’s folk, and “5 Ft. Tall” has some 1960’s power pop touches to it and then evolves into a garage rock fuzz-fest.  The closer, “And, Goodnight,” is a twelve-minute psychedelic jam and a great finale.

As you can guess, Segall is all over the map on Freedom’s Goblin, but it all works.  He’s created a record that embraces his many influences and is having a great time exploring all of them.  It’s a treat for us as well.

Keep your mind open.

[You’ll be a winner in my eyes when you subscribe.]

 

Top 10 singles of 2017: #’s 10 – 6

2017 was the first year in a long while when I bought singles and not just full albums or EP’s, so I thought I’d keep track of my favorites.  Here’s the first half of the list!

#10 – Marlon Williams – “Vampire Again”

Not only does this song have the sexiest groove of the year, it also has a great backstory.  Marlon Williams was bored on Halloween night in L.A. and noticed a local theatre was showing Nosferatu with a live orchestra performing music for the silent film.  He got high, dressed up as a vampire, and went to the event only to discover he was the only one in costume.  This is the story of that night.

#9 – Bebel Gilberto – “Creep” (live)

When my wife and I saw Bebel Gilberto in 2016, she played this song and mentioned that she was “thinking of releasing it.”  “Please do!” I yelled from the middle of the amphitheater.  She did, along with her wonderful EP Live at the Belly Up.  This song makes me cry every time I hear it.

#8 – Honey – “Dream Come Now”

Honey‘s fiery single “Dream Come Now” was one of the most exciting tracks I heard all year.  The opening guitar chaos made me immediately want to buy their album, New Moody Judy, which wasn’t available for another few months.  It was well worth the wait.

#7 – Ty Segall – “The Main Pretender”

This wild, groovy bit of soul-punk from Ty Segall is jaw-dropping, especially with the wicked saxophone work from Mikal Cronin.  This is like a lost Captain Beefheart track and a great example of Segall‘s love of multiple genres.

#6 – The Moonlandingz – “Black Hanz”

Weird, trippy, funky, and catchy, the Moonlandingz released “Black Hanz” and I was immediately hooked on them.  The chorus roots into your head and the song warps into a crazy dream sequence at one point.  It’s my favorite psychedelic track of the year.

Who’s in the top 5?  Tune in tomorrow, friends!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]

Ty Segall’s new album, “Freedom’s Goblin,” due January 26th.

Ty Segall Announces New Album, Freedom’s Goblin,
Out January 26th via Drag City, and North American TourWatch Ty and the Freedom Band Debut “Fanny Dog,”
New Song Off Freedom’s Goblin, on CONAN Last Night
http://teamcoco.com/video/ty-segall-12-04-17?playlist=featured-videos 

Listen to New Single, “Every 1’s a Winner” (Hot Chocolate Cover)
https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/album/freedoms-goblin
[Freedom’s Goblin album art]

Freedom’s Goblin is the new Ty Segall album: 19 tracks strong, filling four sides of vinyl nonstop, with an unrestricted sense of coming together to make an album. Out January 26th via Drag City with a North American tour to follow, it wants you to get your head straight – but first, the process will make your head spin! On any given side, we’re tracking five or six full-blown personalities, unconcerned with convention or continuity.

The songs came in the flow of the year: days of vomit and days of ecstasy and escape too, and days between. The rulebook’s been tossed, but Freedom’s Goblin is thick with deep songwriting resources, be it stomper, weeper, ballad, screamer, banger or funker-upper, all diverted into new Tydentities in the name of love and loathing. Whether chilling at home or on tour with the Freedom Band, tracks were cut at five studios in LA, Chicago and Memphis, engineered by Steve Albini, F. Bermudez, Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and of course, Ty himself. The goal was getting free: embracing any approach necessary to communicate new heights and depths, seeking new places for the fuzz to land among octaving harmonies, dancefloor grooves, synths, saxes and horns, jams, post-Nicky-Hopkins r’n’b electric piano vibes, children-of-the-corn psycho-rebellions, old country waltzes and down-by-the-river shuffles. Basically, the free-est bunch of pop songs Ty’s ever put on tape – free to love or to be alone; to be pretty or pretty ugly; free to turn the other cheek or to turn up the volume. And of course, free to make just about any kind of song that’ll free people when they hear it – because we’re ALL Goblins and we ALL want our Freedom!

This feeling comes alive in “Every 1’s a Winner,” the sixth Freedom’s Goblin pre-release share (a record for Drag City!), including last night’s sneak peek, big band debut of “Fanny Dog” on CONAN. “Every 1’s a winner, baby that’s the truth” – truly, a much-needed message for our times! As in, the kind of message we don’t expect anyone anywhere saying anytime soon. Ty Segall is naturally delivering this message specially to a special someone of his own, the kind to whom makin’ love is such a thrill – but you too are free to be special to someone also, so long as you realize that with such freedom comes great responsibility.  Ty covers Hot Chocolate here as if he’d been funkin’ since he electric slid out the cradle, guiding “Every 1’s a Winner” into a high-flying, hard-driving expression made of his own kind of ecstatic soul. The sound of 2018 (and 2017!) will be much improved by its presence, and everything else on the forthcoming Freedom’s Goblin. So turn it up, and get down.
[“Every 1’s a Winner” single art]
“Alta” – https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/alta
“Meaning” – https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/meaning
“My Lady’s On Fire” – https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/my-ladys-on-fire
“The Main Pretender” – https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/the-main-pretenderFreedom’s Goblin Track List:
1. Fanny Dog
2. Rain
3. Every 1’s a Winner
4. Despoiler Of Cadaver
5. When Mommy Kills You
6. My Lady’s on Fire
7. Alta
8. Meaning
9. Cry Cry Cry
10. Shoot You Up
11. You Say All the Nice Things
12. The Last Waltz
13. She
14. Prison
15. Talkin 3
16. The Main Pretender
17. I’m Free
18. 5 Ft. Tall
19. And Goodnight

Pre-order Freedom’s Goblin –
http://www.dragcity.com/products/freedoms-goblin

Ty Segall Tour Dates:
Sat. Dec. 9 – Mexico City, MX @ Hipnosis Festival
Fri. Dec. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom [solo acoustic set] *
Sat. Dec. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom [solo acoustic set]  *
Sun. Dec. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel [solo acoustic set] #
Mon. Dec. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel [solo acoustic set] #
Wed. Jan. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Fri. Jan. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Jan. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sun. Jan. 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Thu. Feb. 1 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^
Tue. Apr. 3 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon
Thu. Apr. 5 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
Fri. Apr. 6 – Rapid City, SD @ URSA MAJOR
Sat. Apr. 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Sun. Apr. 8 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera
Tue. Apr. 10 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater
Wed. Apr. 11 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Theater
Fri. Apr. 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat. Apr. 14 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
Sun. Apr. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Tue. Apr. 17 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
Wed. Apr. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. Apr. 20 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
Sat. Apr. 21 – Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
Sun. Apr. 22 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s
Thu. Apr. 26 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Outdoor (Levitation 2018)
Fri. Apr. 27 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda (part of Levitation)
Sun. April 29 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre

* = with OCS, Shannon Lay, all proceeds go to LA Kitchen
# = with OCS, Shannon Lay, all proceeds go to SF Homeless Coalition
^ = with Queens Of The Stone Age

Download hi-res press images and album art –
www.pitchperfectpr.com/ty-segall/
[Photo Credit: Denée Segall]

Ty Segall releases another single, and it’s one of the best of 2018.

LISTEN TO TY SEGALL’S NEW SINGLE, “THE MAIN PRETENDER”

Bang, bang, blammo! Ty Segall can’t stop pumping out the songs – and if your problem is that he’s got too many songs for you to hear, lucky you with your cute little problem! As Ty switches gears from rock to punk to pop music and then elsewhere, a wealth of great songs and singing and music is coming down fast; later we’ll have time to think about it. For now, ponder this new one: “The Main Pretender” aims to cull the herd by focusing its sights on a greatest common multiple of our society – people who just can’t see the forest for the head up their ass! Driven by an acidulous alto sax lick and a roiling bass line, “The Main Pretender” bounces like rubber and sticks like glue, exploding into a middle-eight-chorus progression that there’s no coming back from – and so there’s no need to even try. Mikal Cronin‘s saxophone, so urbane and sophisticated on the previous “My Lady’s On Fire,” here reaches for notes that were never wrote (perhaps a suggestion to pretenders everywhere to get free and reach for something outside of themselves instead!), setting the stage for a burning guitars-and-saxes-and-vocs climax. The production, with rough edges not only intact but deployed for maximum positive impact, is a marvel, forcing “The Main Pretender” into our frontal lobes, where it just won’t quit. They never do!
Ty Segall Tour Dates:
Sat. Dec. 9 – Mexico City, MX @ Hipnosis Festival
Fri. Dec. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom [solo acoustic set] *
Sat. Dec. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom [solo acoustic set]  *
Sun. Dec. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel [solo acoustic set] #
Mon. Dec. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel [solo acoustic set] #
Fri. Jan. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Thu. Feb. 1 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^
Thu. April 26 – Austin, TX @ Levitation 2018

* = with OCS, Shannon Lay, all proceeds go to LA Kitchen
# = with OCS, Shannon Lay
^ = with Queens Of The Stone Age

Oh Sees / OCS announce tour dates with Ty Segall and unleash D&D-themed video.

WATCH THE MONSTROUS NEW VIDEO FOR “NITE EXPO“

TY SEGALL ADDED TO LOS ANGELES BENEFIT SHOWS;
CASTLEMANIA ANNOUNCED IN LONDON & MANCHESTER

ORC OUT NOW, MEMORY OF A CUT OFF HEAD
OUT 11/17 ON CASTLE FACE
Who would think that the creator of such records as Orc, Memory of a Cut Off Head, Mutilator Defeated At Last, Carrion Crawler, and Castlemania would hold Halloween in high regard? Oh Sees share the video for “Nite Expo” a song off their album Orc (released in August on Castle Face). The video features a hideous adventurer fighting his way through a cavernous dungeon, slaying all manner of ghoulish beasts and monsters. Will he reach the castle and save the day? You’ll have to watch to find out. “Animation and role-playing games were a huge part of my youth,” says Dwyer, “so I was really excited to work on this with Alex Theodoropulos and make a fun Halloween video that harkens back to the real simple times. Imagination running wild and no thoughts of a heavy world.”
WATCH “NITE EXPO”
https://youtu.be/O8hf8HBeFSE
Also, as previous reported, OCS (featuring John Dwyer, Brigid Dawson, Tim Hellman, Paul Quattrone, Tom Dolas and a string section consisting of Heather Lockie, Eric Clarke and Emily Elkin) announced four shows, two in Los Angeles and two in San Francisco. Proceeds from both LA shows will benefit L.A. Kitchen and, in addition to Shannon Lay, Ty Segall was just added, performing solo acoustic. The SF shows will benefit the Coalition on Homelessness, and will also be supported by Ty Segall and Shannon Lay. Furthermore, for our friends across the pond, Castle Face is proud to present…CASTLEMANIA. Here are some words from Castle Face about the event:

May we present, for you Britishers among us – or those amongst them – a one-two shot to the ribs from the Castle Face Records roster: Thursday, March 1st in Manchester and Friday, March 2nd in London, spearheaded by those indefatigable and indispensable Oh Sees, a live force to be feared. They’ll be joined by white mages of healing and appealing frequencies Once and Future Band, underground pop wunderkind cum laude Kelley Stoltz, feedback-tipped missiles of love and boredom Flat Worms, and the fuzzed-up goth pop stylings of Male Gaze.

OCS TOUR DATES
Fri. Dec. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Sat. Dec. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Sun. Dec. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay
Mon. Dec. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Ty Segall (Solo Acoustic), Shannon Lay

OH SEES TOUR DATES
Thu. Mar. 1, 2018 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall (Castlemania)
Fri. Mar. 2, 2018 – London, UK @ The Troxy (Castlemania)
Listen to OCS’s “The Fool” – http://bit.ly/2xWKTzA
Listen to OCS’s “Memory of a Cut Off Head” – http://bit.ly/2wJQNUt

Pre-order Memory of a Cut Off Head – http://bit.ly/2wiTwSM
Purchase Orc – https://www.midheaven.com/item/orc-by-oh-sees
Hi-res photos/album art: http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/

Oh Sees/OCS Online:
http://www.theeohsees.com
https://www.castlefacerecords.com
http://pitchperfectpr.com/thee-oh-sees/
https://www.castlefacerecords.com/collections/thee-oh-sees

Perpetual workhorse Ty Segall releases another single and is announced for Levitation Austin.

LISTEN TO TY SEGALL’S NEW SINGLE, “MEANING”

Ty Segall reaches deep down into his deep bag of rocks and pulls out an uptempo dance number, an armload of guitars and a hardcore jam, urging us ultimately to jailbreak from the self-imposed thought prison we’ve all been raised in. No, tonight’s not the night, do it now! Denée Segall‘s lead vocals hammer home “Meaning” with unbridled strength: “I see fear in freedom…” Is this what’s holding us back? Ask yourself, man!
Listen to Ty Segall’s “Meaning” –
https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/meaning
https://itunes.apple.com/album/id1296428037

Ty Segall Tour Date:
Fri. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room (LA United for Puerto Rico benefit)
Sat. Dec. 9 – Mexico City, MX @ Hipnosis Festival

Segall has also been announced as the headliner for the first Levitation Austin 2018 kick-off party.  He’ll be playing April 26th at Stubb’s BBQ in downtown Austin with Parquet Courts and A Giant Dog.  Tickets for that show are already on sale.
Keep your mind open.

Ty Segall has a new single for you.

TY SEGALL PRESENTS NEW SINGLE, “ALTA”
It’s a new day in the world of Ty Segall, and every truly new day means another truly great song! Captured in gleaming widescreen, “Alta” is a hometown jam that Ty (with his Freedom Band) has been playing at shows all over the place this year. It’s a nature jam as well – basically a “f**k-the-last-500-years” jam – which shows just how far back Ty‘s willing to go to get really back to nature. It’s a love song to the natural state of hometown grounds – and to convey the feelings, a wistful electric piano lick is ridden out on some crazy guitar horses and Ty’s heartstruck vocal. Ty(guitar, vocals, percussion) now reconvenes with the Freedom Band — Emmett Kelly (guitar, vocals), Mikal Cronin (bass, vocals), Charles Moothart (drums) and Ben Boye (keyboards) – for new single, “Alta,” recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini during a break on tour this past spring. A shining new day indeed!
Listen to Ty Segall’s “Alta” –
https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/alta
https://itunes.apple.com/album/id1288117513

Ty Segall Tour Dates:
Thu. Oct. 5 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre
Fri. Oct. 6 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Sat. Oct. 7 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
Sun. Oct. 8 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Tue. Oct. 10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon
Fri. Oct. 13 – Joshua Tree, CA @ Institute of Mentalphysics

Rewind Review: Ty Segall – Live in San Francisco (2015)

Ty Segall is so prolific that I’m surprised it took him until 2015 to release a live album. He seems to put out a new record every month, so it feels like he should have three live albums by now.

The psych-fuzz whiz kid opens his live set with, oddly enough, “Wave Goodbye.” It starts out with low bass and then kicks into squealing high gear that has the small crowd cheering in joy. It sounds like something Tom Petty wishes he could release on his new record, but fears it would alienate his long-time fans. “Slaughterhouse” (from the album of the same name) is pure freak-out punk rock with a little Nirvana vocals sprinkled on top for good measure. “Death” mixes stoner rock with punk so fast it might give your ears friction burns. It’s one of the best cuts on the record.

“I Bought My Eyes” is one of Segall’s biggest hits, and he lets it rip on this live album. The guitars seem to come at you from all sides while Segall’s vocals are somehow gentle in the din. “Feel” borders on arena rock territory at first, but the sleeveless denim jacket riffs cut it off at the front door (which is a good thing).

“The Hill” follows the band’s friend, Julie, telling a joke, and next up is “Thank God for the Sinners,” which sounds like something Buzzcocks cooked up at their second jam session. Segall claims “Standing at the Station” “is about the cow trade.” I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that it’s a swaggering, wild blues-influenced tidal wave coming out of your speakers.

The album ends with another of Segall’s hits – “What’s Inside Your Heart.” I’m sure the fans at this gig told him how their hearts were full of palpitations from being shaken by so much rock. It’s a strong ending to a strong record.

I know this entire review has essentially been me saying this record is non-stop blaring madness, but that’s the best way I describe it. You’ll understand once you hear it. Ty Segall is making crazy records, and we should all be grateful to him for doing it. The world needs more live records, and live performers, like this.

Keep your mind open.

[What’s inside your inbox?  Updates when you subscribe.]

Buy Ty Segall’s new EP and support the ACLU.

TY SEGALL RELEASES NEW “FRIED SHALLOTS” EP VIA BANDCAMP!

ALL PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO THE ACLU

In order to survive this long, hot season of discontent, you gotta have something new to turn up and tune into! It’s vital to chew down on stuff that’s not just all negativity, you know? If you wanna stay positive, throw Ty Segall’s “Fried Shallots” into your brain pan and flame on for a quick snack.

“Fried Shallots” is a handful of numbers from different times and places over the past few years that all work together in a weird way. That’s something we should all be striving for: all working together in a weird way. For Ty, that requires rock with the gears shifting and stripping, tempos and tropes mashing up; a primal outburst, a quick-and-fuzzy soundtrack of rock, folk, r’n’b and pure power pop, to give us a chance to chill and do the new century twist for just a minute. That’s good, for in twist we trust!

“Fried Shallots” isn’t simply just good fun. The profits from this release will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union, whose defense of our rights is badly needed now – especially in the face of the government pigs who don’t care about the constitution and are determined to thin our herd so that they and their corporate sugar-daddies can grow ever fatter off the deprivations of the common man-clan! Don’t you let ’em do it! Organizations like the ACLU help secure freedoms that allow individuals to stay individual in the face of the choking tides of oppression. Ty Segall’s “Fried Shallots” is here to help us surf those tides and not be swept under.

“Fried Shallots” is available for digital purchase exclusively on Bandcamp and a physical release will follow on August 25th!

“Fried Shallots” EP Tracklist:
1. Big Man
2. Dust
3. When The Gulls Turn To Ravens
4. Is It Real
5. Another Hustle
6. Talkin’Purchase “Fried Shallots” Digitally — 
https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/album/fried-shallots

Pre-Order “Fried Shallots” 12” EP — 
http://www.dragcity.com/products/fried-shallots

Ty Segall & The Freedom Band Tour Dates:
8/2/17 at The Capitol Theater in Olympia , WA, USA
8/3/17 at The Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
8/5/17- 8/6/17 at Pickathon in Happy Valley, OR, USA
8/17/17 at Pukkelpop Festival in Hasselt, Belgium
8/18/17 at Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
8/19/17 at Festival Paredes de Coura in Paredes de Coura, Portugal
8/20/17 at La Route du Rock Festival in Saint Malo, France
8/23/17 at Den Graa Hal in Copenhagan, Denmark
8/24/17 at Astra Kulturhaus in Berlin, Germany
8/25/17 at Le Cabaret Vert in Charleville Mezieres, France
8/26/17 at Nox Orae Festival in La Tour de Peliz, Switzerland
8/27/17 at Rock En Seine in Paris, France
8/29/17 at Atabal in Biarritz, France
8/30/17 at Le Bikini (Bikini Fest) in Toulouse, France
8/31/17 at Ebrovision Festival in Miranda De Ebro , Spain
9/1/17 at The Coronet in London, United Kingdom
9/2/17 at End Of The Road Festival in Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, United Kingdom
10/5/17 at 191 Toole in Tuscon, AZ, USA
10/6/17 at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, NM, USA
10/7/17 at Summit Music Hall in Denver, CO, USA
10/8/17 at The Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO, USA
10/10/17 at The Bunkhouse Saloon in Las Vegas, NV, USA

Rewind Review: Fuzz – self-titled (2013)

Not one to rest on his laurels, Ty Segall has more side projects than a street hustler. Fuzz is one of his loudest and best. Along with Roland Cosio (bass) and Charlie Moothart (guitar), Segall (on vocals and drums instead of his usual guitar) and his pals created an album of metal distortion that was hard to match in 2013 and is still hard to match today.

The band is appropriately named, as the opener, “Earthen Gate,” starts like a bluesy heavy metal ballad but transforms into a heavy chugging fuzzed-out battle hymn. “Sleigh Ride” has, as far as I can tell, nothing to do with Christmas and jingle bells, but everything to do with the band’s love of Cream and Black Sabbath. This love of 1960’s metal bands continues on “What’s in My Head?”, in which Fuzz drifts back and forth between psychedelia and stoner metal.

“HazeMaze” hits hard right out of the gate. It’s like the soundtrack to a battle between giant robots. Seriously, someone needs to put this in the next Pacific Rim movie. “Loose Sutures” is excellent stoner metal. It’s full of reverbed vocals, heavy guitars, and pounding drums that sound like Segall decided to skip a day at the gym and made up for it on his kit.

“Preacher” is Cream mixed with Blue Cheer. “Raise” is Cream if Clapton, Bruce, and Baker said, “Screw it, turn up full volume on everything.” when recording (which, actually, I’m sure they did now and then). The rhythm grooves in it are superb. The album ends with “One,” the longest track on the album at just over six minutes (Fuzz doesn’t mess around.). It’s glorious, hard-hitting controlled instrumental chaos. The mosh pit this must induce is probably batshit crazy.

This record would’ve been in my top 10 of 2013 had I been keeping lists back then. They’ve put out a second record by now, II, so I need to seek it out pronto. You should, too. Seek out both. Get fuzzy.

Keep your mind open.

[I don’t know what’s in your head, but updates are in your e-mail inbox if you subscribe to us.]